1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for sharing content using a Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) network, and more particularly, to a method for sharing content stored in an inside-home DLNA device among outside-home DLNA devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wide variety of home electronics devices including information processing apparatuses, e.g., a personal computer (PC), telecommunication devices, e.g., a telephone, broadcasting devices, e.g., a TV, and audio and video (AV) devices are commonly used in homes. A home automation system has been proposed to automatically control devices and is currently being used in commercial applications.
In an initial phase, a home automation system individually controls home electronics devices using either a telephone or infrared ray technology. That is, the early-stage home automation did not achieve interoperability among different home electronics devices.
However, the recent advancement of telecommunication technology enables communication between different home electronics devices that create a network, under the command of a controller. The system for integrating and managing networked home electronics devices is referred to as a ‘home network system’.
For example, a home network system allows networked home electronics devices (e.g. TV, washing machine, microwave oven, gas range, audio player, air conditioner, boiler, etc.), lighting, a gas valve and a front door to connect to a controller such as a home gateway or home server. The home network system also uses a specific terminal such as a remote control (hereinafter called a ‘remote control’).
Recently, standardization of a home network system is under way and a Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) has emerged as a new standard for controlling information-related home electronics devices (TVs, video tape recorders, digital cameras, audio systems, etc.) The DLNA, formerly known as Digital Home Working Group (DHWG) and established in June 2003, is a standardization body consisting of MicroSoft, IBM, HP, Intel, Sony, Matsushita, Samsung, and other firms.
The DLNA is dedicated to sharing the contents provided by different information-related home electronics devices such as TVs, video cassette recorders (VCRs), digital cameras and audio systems. For example, the DLNA enables networked devices within the home to share various digital media contents (e.g. photos, music, motion video, etc.) stored in personal devices such as mobile devices or PCs. Thus, the DLNA allows users to conveniently enjoy the digital media contents regardless of locations and sources within the home.
To this end, the DLNA mainly focuses on solving compatibility problem among home electronics devices through standardization of physical media, network transmission, media format, streaming protocol, Digital Rights Management (DRM) and the like based on a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) technology.
More specifically, network connectivity in the DLNA is based on the Internet Protocol (IP). The IP is a well-known network communication protocol for devices operating on the Internet and enables transparent exchange of information on application programs that run in various media. This allows all DLNA devices to communicate with another device connected via the Internet. For example, a PC or set-top box (STB) containing a ‘DLNA middleware’ may transmit media content to a TV in the main room on a wireless basis through an 802.11 Access Point (AP) connected to an Ethernet cable.
A high-speed wired Ethernet (802.11u) and a wireless Ethernet (802.11a/b/g) may be used for a physical layer of the DLNA. The wired Ethernet is a well-known and proven stable communication protocol and the wireless Ethernet employs well-known Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi) to allow for wireless home network communication
Further, a technology for device discovery and control within a DLNA network is based on conventional UPnP AV and UPnP Architectures and enables a device to automatically configure networks, e.g., IP addresses, and to discover the presence of other devices on the network. The same applies to a technology of service discovery and control within the DLNA network.
DLNA devices may be categorized into Digital Media Server (DMS) and Digital Media Player (DMP) classes. A DMS performs the same function as a Multimedia Server Device (MSD) in the UPnP AV specification for providing media to devices. A DMP performs the same functions as a Media Renderer Control Point (MRCP) for selecting and controlling media for playback and a Media Renderer Device (MRD) for processing the selected media.
However, a DLNA system has been conventionally created only on an inside-home LAN to allow sharing of content between AV devices within the home. An outside-home DLNA device ia nor free to process content stored in inside-home AV devices. Thus, the conventional DLNA system does not allow free sharing of content between DLNA devices inside and outside the home.